Attention all Knifemakers!.....Product dealers/retailers and/or knife makers/sharpeners/hobbyists (etc) are not permitted to insert business related text/videos/images (company/company name/product references) and/or links into your signature line, your homepage url (within the homepage profile box), within any posts, within your avatar, nor anywhere else on this site. Market research (such as asking questions regarding or referring to products/services that you make/offer for sale or posting pictures of finished projects) is prohibited. These features are reserved for supporting vendors and hobbyists.....Also, there is no need to announce to the community that you are a knifemaker unless you're trying to sell something so please refrain from sharing.
Thanks for your co-operation!

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums by donating using the link above or becoming a Supporting Member.

I have a question for you turkey gurus. We usually just do a turkey breast and I brine it. I get ok crispy skin but not like an unbrined bird would get. My question is, if I brine 2 days before and then leave it in the fridge overnight uncovered the day before thanksgiving, will it dry out the skin enough to get crispy without losing the moisture and flavor from the brining?

What works for me is to cut out back then brine whole bird for 48 Rinse and air dry in fridge at least 12. Rub then smoke at 225 F. I use thermo-probes to judge when done. Go from smoker to sear (grill or oven) to brown/crisp. Rest until serving.

Hopefully somebody smarter than me will explain mallard (sp?) effect. Very simplified the bird has got to see 300+ to brown. If roasting breast, some air time and the time in oven should be enough to brown/crisp. If you want it browner, crisper, crank the heat up in oven to 450-500 for last 10 min or so.

Rub a TBLS of baking soda on the skin right before putting in the oven. Sure its a good idea to leave your bird uncovered in the refrigerator for a day or two but using Baking Soda on any skin (poultry, pork, fish) get the skin rendering almost immediately when put in the oven.

One additional tip is to make little slits in the skin (not the meat) all over the bird, this will allow the steam to escape, this also increases the skin's surface area creating more places of yummy skin cracklin.

Baking soda jump starts the maillard reaction on the skin when it hits heat. Its really significant. Blows away butter or oil. Also, less heat is required to reach that brown skin, meaning more juice in the bird.

Also, baking soda can be used in brines for tenderizing meat but care must be taken less you'll turn the protein into mush. I would not bring with BS more than one day.